Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
This invention relates to horse trailers and is particularly related to such trailers that will provide protection against injury to horses tied to a side of the trailer when the horse(s) are out of the trailer.
It is common, when transporting horses in a trailer, to stop periodically to allow the horses to have a break outside the trailer. It is also common that when horses are transported in a trailer away from home that they are tied to the trailer after removal from the trailer. This may be just to keep the horses in a desired location for a short period of time, or even during feeding and watering of the animals. At rodeos and horseshows horse trailers are frequently used as a home base prior to and after events in which the horses participate. The horse trailers become convenient meeting spots, locations for leaving horses to be used at a later time and locations for feeding, watering and otherwise caring for the animals.
Often, buckets of feed or feed troughs and water containers are carried by horse trailers and are filled and used by the animals, as required.
In any event for safety purposes, horses tied to a transport trailer remain tied to a stopped tow vehicle generally to one side of the trailer that is away from passing traffic. If tied to the rear of a trailer connected to a stopped tow vehicle or to the side of the trailer adjacent to passing traffic the animal may be in danger from passing traffic. If tied between the trailer and a towing vehicle there is usually little room for the animal because of the trailer tongue connection between the trailer and vehicle.
Even when tied to the safest side of a trailer, however, horses often tend to paw at the trailer wheels and other trailer sub-structure. It is recognized that such pawing can result in injury to the leg of the animal. It is not uncommon that the horse will insert a hoof and fore leg into the wheel space formed beneath a wheel fender and have the leg caught between wheels or between a wheel and fender structure. Once caught the animal becomes panicky and in attempts to free the leg does significant scraping of the leg, or even worse, damage to ligaments or tendons of the leg.
It has also been found that some horses, when tied to the side of a horse trailer, will turn and kick at the wheels of the trailer. Obviously, such horses are also subject to injury of a foot or leg that might get caught between wheels or between wheels and metal components of a wheel well.
Principal objects of the present invention are to provide a horse trailer that will provide for feeding and watering of a horse on the xe2x80x9csafexe2x80x9d side of the horse trailer. Other objects are to provide a horse trailer having cover means for the xe2x80x9csafe sidexe2x80x9d wheel area of a horse trailer that will prevent injury to an animal that might otherwise insert a hoof and/or foreleg into a wheel area to be caught and possibly damaged.
Principal features of the invention include a horse trailer having the usual box in which horses are placed to be transported; the usual undercarriage to support the box; the usual wheels mounted to the undercarriage at opposite sides of the box; a tongue with a hitch thereon projecting forwardly of the undercarriage; and fenders projecting from the box to overlie the tops of the wheels and curved downwardly at both front and rear of the wheels to provide protection for the wheels and to limit the extent to which rocks and the like are thrown upwardly from the ground by the wheels during travel of the trailer. In addition, the horse trailer of the invention includes means on at least one fender to securely bold feed and water troughs that are removably positioned on the fender and attachment means to secure a protective cover to an outside edge of the fender so that the cover will greatly restrict access to the wheel or wheels of the trailer at the side of the trailer box to which the protective cover is applied,
The protective cover is preferably made of a high density, durable plastic material that will resist denting or that is resilient enough that it will resume its shape after being struck by a horse foot.
Mounting means on the trailer support the protective cover when the cover is not in use.
Additional objects and features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, drawings and claims.